1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of gas analysis, and specifically relates to apparatus using a nondispersive infrared gas analysis technique to determine the concentration of a particular type of gas present in a sample chamber by sensing the absorption of infrared radiation passing through the gas.
2. The Prior Art
A comparatively new development in the field of nondispersive infrared gas analyzers has been the diffusion-type gas sample chamber. In a diffusion-type gas sample chamber, the gas to be measured enters and leaves the chamber by diffusion.
One example of a diffusion-type gas sample chamber is described in the parent application. In that invention, the sample chamber has the form of a tube composed of a gastight material, having apertures covered by semipermeable membranes through which the gas to be measured enters and leaves the sample chamber by diffusion. This same approach is used in the present invention, with some important modifications.
Another example of a diffusion-type gas sample chamber is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,150 to Burough et al. In their invention, the body of the sample chamber is composed of a porous material through which the gas to be measured passes by diffusion. Burough et al. do not teach or suggest using the walls of the porous tube as reflective radiation-guiding elements.
An example of a non-diffusion-type gas sample chamber is shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-173734(A) of Miyazaki. In that analyzer, the sample cells have the form of helical tubes. The gas to be measured must be pressurized to force it to flow through the sample tube.
Another example of a non-diffusion-type of gas sample chamber is shown in Japanese Publication No. 63-298031 by Fujimura, in which air is rammed into the sample chamber by motion of the sample chamber through the air.
In the present application, the inventor will describe an improvement on the sample chamber described in the parent application to make it more compact while maintaining its radiation-handling efficiency.